The full moon hung high in the sky, silently watching the Heavenly Shamans below on the verge of coming to blows. The speck of shadow upon its surface showed no discernible change, yet every Heavenly Shaman knew that it was expanding bit by bit, and doing so faster and faster.
The moment Minglei caught the ribbon, an eerie, somber flame immediately ignited across his hand. Yet as quickly as each blossom of nether fire emerged, an invisible force extinguished it. In just a few breaths of confrontation, hundreds of flames flickered into existence and perished. Minglei's hand remained motionless; the ribbon could neither advance nor retreat.
Youfeng snorted coldly and quelled her nether fire. Once the flames ceased, Minglei released his grip. The ribbon flew back into Youfeng's hand without striking toward Yanmo again.
Though the clash had been brief, all the Heavenly Shamans saw clearly that Minglei had gained the upper hand in a direct confrontation with Youfeng. Although Minglei possessed the authority of the First Heavenly Shaman, Youfeng possessed the source blood of the Ancestral Shaman, making her authority by no means inferior. Thus, the outcome was, in truth, Youfeng being defeated head-on by Minglei.
At this point, there was no longer any need for the Heavenly Shamans to remain, and they parted on bad terms. As for the shadow on the full moon, half of the Heavenly Shamans felt that someone else would handle it eventually, and it was not their turn to worry about it.
Minglei appeared within the main hall of the City of Heaven. Another shaman of slender build walked over and asked, "Things went unpleasantly?"
Minglei sighed. "As expected."
"I watched the whole thing, but I don't quite understand. Why did Youfeng push Yanmo so hard? What good does doing this do for her?"
This petite shaman was not tall, reaching only to Minglei's waist, yet she was another Heavenly Shaman among the Sacred Shamans.
Minglei glanced around, found no suitable seat, and simply sat down on the floor so they could speak eye to eye. Then he said, "She is afraid."
The shamaness asked in surprise, "Afraid? Even she can feel fear? She is a bloodline descendant of the Ancestral Shaman. When has she ever been afraid in the Wu domain?"
Minglei replied, "Anyone can feel fear. Before, she was fearless precisely because she had the shelter of her bloodline, and all the reckless mistakes she made were still within the Ancestral Shaman's tolerance. For instance, she humiliates me every now and then. In others' eyes, that seems like a massive matter, but it's merely her way of flaunting her superior status, letting everyone know she holds the foremost position among all Heavenly Shamans in the Shaman Realm, rather than me, the nominal First Heavenly Shaman. As long as I don't take it to heart, it amounts to little.
"However, this time is different. The disaster she caused is far too immense—so great that even those few drops of the Ancestral Shaman's source blood cannot shield her from disaster. She knows this very well, which is why she is afraid."
"Yet why does she seem even more arrogant and overbearing than before?"
Minglei smiled faintly. "It is precisely because she is afraid that she has grown hysterical, using it to temporarily forget her fear. Her unreasonable badgering and desperate provocations against Yanmo aren't because she truly thinks the fault lies with the power shamans. She wants to force Yanmo into rebellion. Once the Ancestor of Steel fully awakens because of it, the situation will become dire enough that the Ancestral Shaman might temporarily overlook her failure of losing the ancient full moon and the authority over the Desolate Realm."
The shamaness asked, "Why do you place the ancient full moon before the authority over the Desolate Realm? Could it truly be graver than losing more than half of the Desolate Realm? Isn't it merely one of Huiye's Dao Foundations?"
Minglei nodded. "Do not be fooled by the fact that the ancient full moon is merely a Dao Foundation—it is a unique Dao Foundation across all realms. Its presence in the Wu domain serves as a supplement and pillar to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth here. I know this, and Youfeng knows this, but the other Heavenly Shamans do not. That is why Youfeng went mad when something happened to the full moon."
The shamaness asked further, "Huiye doesn't know either?"
The corners of Minglei's mouth curved upward almost imperceptibly. "She... likely does not."
The shamaness offered a salute, turned, and left the hall. Behind her stood Minglei; behind Minglei loomed the colossal statue of the Ancestral Shaman, silently looking down upon the mortal world.
***
In an unnamed small shaman city, Shengxin and Huixin were dressed in tattered rags and caked in filth. The passing shamans instinctively stepped aside, steering clear of this pair of ugly, filthy low-caste wretches.
Huixin let out a sigh. "I never imagined a day would come when I'd starve, and for this long. What on earth are we supposed to be doing? Why are we always so down on our luck? We even lost our cultivation!"
"Our cultivation isn't gone; it's sealed," Shengxin explained.
Faint and limp with hunger, Huixin muttered listlessly, "Is there any difference? I just don't understand. We were traveling along minding our own business, and only a black bird flew across the sky—why did you suddenly have to curse at it?"
Shengxin fell silent for a moment. In a rare display, he did not offer an excuse, but instead raised a hand and slapped himself across the face.
Seeing this, Huixin couldn't bear it anymore. She sighed, "Forget it, forget it. At least we're still alive, and we still have a bite to eat in hand... What are you doing?!"
She saw Shengxin squatting before a tethered, emaciated hound, holding out a dirty steamed bun. The dog was clearly starving as well; it gulped it down in a single bite, then obsequiously licked Shengxin's hand.
Shengxin turned back, met Huixin's murderous glare, and gave a bitter smile, explaining, "Right now, what I can least bear to see is a chained dog. If the master is in a good mood, they get a bite; if the master is in a bad mood, they starve, and getting beaten or scolded is the least of it. But at least they still get fed every now and then. The two of us don't even have a leash right now—we can only wander aimlessly."
Huixin said faintly, "Since you know we're worse off than it is, why did you feed it? Shouldn't it be feeding us?"
Shengxin froze for a second, lost in thought, his expression gradually darkening.
***
Leaving the secret realm, Yanmo headed straight for the teleportation gate and proceeded directly to the Desolate Realm. The shaman managing the portal waited until he vanished within before hastily dashing off to report.
In the Desolate Realm, Jiumu was dozing in the sunlight when he suddenly cracked an eye open. Looking at the arriving Yanmo, he asked, "Why are you here again? Shouldn't you be avoiding suspicion at a time like this?"
Yanmo cursed, "Avoid what bloody suspicion! As if avoiding it stops anyone from picking trouble with you! Besides, even if she doesn't come looking for trouble with me, I'm going to look for trouble with her!"
Jiumu propped himself up and asked, "Why such a fierce temper today?"
A ring of fiery waves erupted around Yanmo, blanketing a hundred zhang in all directions!
Having vented the fire, his mood improved slightly. He said, "That bitch Youfeng deliberately provoked me, wanting me to awaken the Ancestor of Steel or rebel outright. The trouble is, even though I know full well she did it on purpose, I just can't suppress the fury in my chest! That bitch's methods were extraordinarily sharp today; I suspect someone was coaching her behind the scenes. If Minglei hadn't intervened this time, I was ready to detonate that secret realm world and punch a hole straight through the Ancestral Shaman's domain!"
Jiumu was alarmed. "By no means! It doesn't matter if you die, but I'd be the conspicuous target sticking out—wouldn't I be next in line?"
Yanmo glared at him. "Look at how pathetic you are! No need to fear. Today I even cursed out the Ancestral Shaman, and now I'll come running to the Desolate Realm every single day. Youfeng will probably think I'm on the verge of rebelling or trying to claim the newly opened Heavenly Shaman seat. But I just won't rebel—I'll see how long the Ancestral Shaman can play deaf and mute!"
Jiumu let out a long breath. "That's good, that's good! Contention without rupture is the superior play. I knew you had the most schemes; certainly not something a dumb shaman like me could match."
Yanmo glared at Jiumu again. "Cut the useless chatter. The Heavenly Shaman seat of the Desolate Realm is lying vacant right now, which is no long-term solution. We must find a way to fill it and sever those fellows' ambitions. Among the rising stars of the Desolate Realm, are there any suitable candidates?"
Jiumu extended a tentacle, casting a barrier before speaking: "Big Brother, you really want to drag me down with you! Couldn't you put up a barrier before saying things like that?"
Yanmo said apologetically, "I was too angry and forgot."
Jiumu grudgingly forgave him. "There's only one little fellow named Tianyu whose talent and karmic luck pass muster. Mainly, his destiny is ridiculously good—to the point where meat pies fall from the sky chasing after him, and piping hot ones at that."
Yanmo said in surprise, "That impressive?"
"Indeed." Jiumu wished he could trade places with him.
Yanmo pondered, but could not recall such a figure at all. He asked, "What is his cultivation?"
"Late Dharma Idol stage."
Yanmo was taken aback. "Then he won't do—far too green! How long would we have to wait?"
Jiumu sighed heavily. "I know he won't do either. But there really aren't any other suitable candidates."
Yanmo felt helpless as well. "Then let's pencil him in for now, observe him, and support him. Right, give me that book."
"What book?"
"Stop playing dumb. The book written by that little fellow who was with Ronglong. You definitely kept a secret copy. Hand one over."
A sheet of jade paper appeared in Jiumu's hand. Passing it over, he asked, "What do you want to read this for?"
Yanmo replied, "If you're putting on a show, do it properly. To fake a rebellion convincingly, I at least need to read a seditious book."
Yanmo took the jade paper, stowed it away carefully, and left.
Watching Yanmo's departing back, Jiumu narrowed all nine of his eyes slightly, suspecting that Yanmo wasn't acting at all.
***
Wei Yuan's divine consciousness lingered in the Pure Land grotto-heaven. Manifesting within, he slowly walked into the small temple and gazed at the empty lotus pedestal.
Upon the offering table before the Buddha, the ancient bronze lamp burned quietly, marked all over with signs of recent polishing. This time, it did not speak.
Wei Yuan's gaze fell upon the three volumes of scripture resting on the offering table. Lost in thought, he reached out and picked up one volume. Liandeng's movements suddenly hitched in an almost imperceptible pause.
Drip!
A drop of sweat fell from Liandeng's chin and struck the floor. In the silence of the small temple, the sound was as loud as a clap of thunder.
Wei Yuan glanced at Liandeng with some surprise, only to see him facing away, sweeping the floor with utter absorption.
Wei Yuan retracted his gaze. Although he did not quite understand why Liandeng was sweating at this moment, this fake monk was adept at enigmatic Buddhist repartee; every word and action was a trap. Back when the monk had eagerly accompanied him to the world fragment beyond the heavens, he had harbored no good intentions. Against someone of Liandeng's sort, the best approach was simply to ignore him—no matter what mischief he conjured, treat him as nothing more than thin air.
Wei Yuan did not open the scripture. Instead, he returned it to its place and slowly turned around.
By now, that unseen, colossal hand had laid the common people of the entire State of Ji before Wei Yuan, presenting two paths: one was to draw closer to the King Buddha and rescue the myriad people from dire straits; the other was to sit idly by as the mortal realm was plunged into misery, indifferent to the life and death of living beings.
In truth, it had left Wei Yuan no room for choice.
Yet at this moment, a profound terror gripped Wei Yuan's heart. He feared that once he ascended the lotus pedestal, he would lose his original emotions and forget the love he once held. Though he might still be able to remain by her side, they would merely become the most intimate of strangers, never able to draw close again.
Chapter 966